Better Late Than Never
by pantherscastle
Summary: Aboard the Castle of Lions, when the paladins find it, is a third altean. Canceled. I eventually plan to write a fix-it fic with Talis for VLD, but I have other projects first.


**A/N:** The only "warning" I have for this chapter is my own attempts at balancing the angst/trauma of the destruction of one's own home, and the need to still actually function and keep going on. Also, mentions of sibling death.

edit: fixed Talis's hair color (it'll make sense).

 **EDIT: I'm rewriting this chapter for reasons. I will post chapter two with the rewritten chapter one, apologies.**

* * *

The world came back to Talis quiet and distant at first, sound muted and distorted and a play of light on her eyelids that she noticed, but at the same time, didn't. It was just _there,_ regardless.

For a moment, she couldn't remember where she was or what was going on. Just the sight of fire and darkened skies...

And then, without reason, she snapped awake, taking one step out of her pod and catching herself on its inner edge when her legs threatened not to support her. She tightened her grip on the pod, momentarily upset at herself for reasons she couldn't wholly justify, and took the moment to look around the room.

Off towards her right, she could hear Coran bantering with someone else, someone unfamiliar.

"-one, two, three," Coran snapped his fingers dramatically, "sleepy time!"

The not-altean- even _she_ had long and pointed ears, so there was no way he was altean, she figured- responded, "Well, before you did that, I'd-" the owner grunted repeatedly, and she watched them- him?- punching the air, then jumping to demonstrate a poorly executed kick. He quickly straightened. For the display, Talis snorted, and wrote him off entirely as a danger; perhaps if he had a weapon...but the fact that Coran wasn't actually attacking him should have tipped her off that _he_ didn't view the alien as a threat either. "-like that." he concluded, clearly proud of his own prowess.

"Really?" Coran began to retort, sounding grumpy. "How could you when I've already come at you with this?" He jabbed towards his sparring partner several times, grunting, "Ha, ha, ha, hey!"

"Oh man, these guys are good."

Talis turned her attention towards the source of the voice. In center of the room, at the computer console where Princess Allura types away quickly, are two not-alteans, and somewhat removed from them, _another_ two. One was small, child-like in appearance for how short they were- reminding her of her younger sister, but only in height and age- with short golden brown hair and with large glasses that contributed to a yrggish look. They were peering around the console to look at the screen curiously. The other one was big, much darker in skin tone- not quite as dark as Allura naturally was, but certainly darker than herself and Coran- and dressed in yellow, with green pants, a color combination that made her viscerally uncomfortable. He had short dark brown hair, and focused his attention on the mock fight taking place. She guessed it was he who had spoken, and not either of the other three.

And no sooner than Talis looked over and took them all in, did the console start beeping. "It can't be." Talis felt her heart plummet at the words. The Princess's voice was quiet, but there was no mistaking the sound of horror and disbelief. Allura always strove to be composed, for her to sound...

Coran gave her his full attention, straightening his spine and turning his shoulder to the not-altean. Talis was as worried as he. "What is it?"

"We've been asleep for ten thousand years!" She was quiet for a moment. When she spoke again, she was far more distressed. "Planet Altea, and all the planets in our solar system, have been destroyed." Allura turned towards Coran while Talis fixed her gaze on the scrolling text and the small universal map zoomed into the blank space of Altea's coordinates. "Coran, Father is gone. Our entire civilisation…"

 _"Zarkon." S_ he spat the name like it was poison.

Talis looked down, finding it hard to breathe. She remembered coming home, proud of what she had achieved in academy and during her royal training afterwards, and excited to see her mother, sister, and friends again after nearly a year, only for everything to quickly go very wrong. Altea's normally blue skies burning red and orange and the Galra fleets entering the atmosphere, and Zarkon's demand that Alfor turn over Voltron to him. _"It's over."_ he had said. There was nothing they could have done to save Altea- or their people, even the civilian ships were destroyed by the galra in an act that couldn't be justified by Zarkon's _"an eye for an eye"_ speech, the catalyst for all that death- at that point.

Anger washed over her, remembering it, and mixed with her nausea to make a special, ugly feeling.

"Zarkon?" It was one of the two she hadn't yet gotten a good look at yet that gasped, eyes widening and his expression contorting.

"He was the King of the Galra. A vile creature and enemy to all free people." Allura answered, voice growing firmer and more heated as she spoke. Talis stayed quiet, having nothing to add and privately relieved to allow Allura to take charge, as she should as the princess.

"I remember now. I was his prisoner."

"He's still alive? Impossible!" Allura raised a hand and tucked it near her chest.

Talis looked to her, and offered in suggestion, "It could be a namesake?" Galra were long lived, it was true, but they didn't live for _ten thousand_ years.

They also didn't live after _dying._

His gaze became imploring, begging them to believe him. "I can't explain it, but it's true." He looked at Coran and Allura. "He's searching for a super weapon called Voltron."

Allura dropped her hand back to her side, albeit clenched still, straightened her spine and drew herself up. With certainty, she told them, "He's searching for it because he knows it's the only thing that can defeat him, and that's exactly why we must find it before he does."

There was a moment of quiet, each of the strangers sharing looks, then giving Allura their attention once more, nodding.

That should have reassured Talis, but instead, she just worried. Did they really understand what they were involving themselves with? The responsibility of being the Paladins of Voltron? Would they even be accepted by all of the lions, or able to form Voltron if they weren't rejected? The original paladins had fought together hundreds of times, at least, before _Voltron_ ever became involved; they knew how to fight alongside one another, play off their strengths and make up for their weaknesses. These would be paladins...they were young, Talis's age if not younger.

It was...a lot to have resting on anyone's shoulders, but especially on the inexperienced. Did they even have combat training? Lance's mock up with Coran earlier wasn't reassuring.

Whether they did or not, Talis reminded herself in an attempt to will her mind to unwind some, they had agreed to try, and that counted for something if nothing else.

* * *

They spoke more, properly introducing themselves to each other, and learning how the humans found the Blue lion and what Shiro did- or, as it turned out, _didn't-_ remember about his time as Zarkon's prisoner.

Talis couldn't help herself but to pace as they spoke, and her mind pulled in at least three different directions. She worried over everything they needed to do, that she could foresee that was, and listening to their story, which was told with much talking over one another to add their own commentary and corrections, and thinking about Altea, about her mother and sister who were now _gone,_ and how Talis would also be gone if she had chosen to evacuate with them...and how they wouldn't be dead if she had convinced them to stay at the castle.

The humans needed to retrieve the Voltron lions and become their paladins, she and Coran needed to start maintenance on the castle- and, while tangentially on the subject, Talis was deeply confused how the castle had kept them alive in cryostasis for so long, but that was something to ponder about later, after everything that needed to be done was finished- and Allura needed to...what did Allura need to do? Specifically? She made the decisions, opened wormholes, piloted the castle, and held the key to locating the lions tied to her quintessence; without her, they would be lost. Piloting the castle wasn't even an option at the moment, and she was already doing the first, but Talis supposed she would have to open up wormholes so they could get _to_ the lost lions- was the teladuv operational? Talis lifted a hand to her face, pinching the bridge of her nose. The list of all the diagnostics she should _really_ get running and addressing was expansive, and already she was giving herself a headache.

After the humans caught them up to how they had awoken the three, they all became shockingly hushed, perhaps processing how, in just a day, they had gone from a species that had never even left its solar system, had no evidence of life outside their planet, to being hosted in an alien castle by living aliens after an alien warship had _chosen_ them and brought them far, far away from their _galaxy_ in a matter of a few minutes- the equivalent of dobashes she gathered- and through a wormhole to an alien planet.

Or, if they were Hunk, hungrily eyeing the ever-dubious, yet edible, green goo-paste substance that the castle-ship had produced. The goo was not the most flavorful or appealing substance, and another mysterious _how?_ for Talis to investigate someday, but she didn't fault any of them for digging into it.

They sounded like they'd had quite the busy day.

Coran had brought in a platter, and now urged Allura to eat. "Princess, you must eat. It's been ten thousand years."

"I'm not hungry."

Lance stood with his arms crossed. "Man, ten thousand years? That's like one thousand plus ten." Lance opening up his mouth seemed to be the proper invitation for everyone else to speak, almost all at once.

"That's times ten," Keith corrected.

"Whatever, dropout."

Talis frowned, but behind her hand, lowered from her nose to her mouth, none of them would have seen it.

These Earthling humans weren't a team at all. They were a _mess,_ bickering constantly for little reason, and as it was, possessed no dynamic with one another. In just one conversation alone, they kept trying to speak over each other and not _with._ Except maybe Shiro, who was constantly trying to steer them back on course, but _trying_ wouldn't cut it, not with her and not in a fight. She may not have served on a battlefield yet or been properly received in the military, but she knew that.

At any rate, the Blue lion had already chosen its Paladin, so there was no point lamenting about it.

"I haven't eaten since breakfast and I'm starving." Hunk commented, patting his stomach.

"Yeah, but you've thrown up, like, five times," Pidge pointed out. _Gross._ Talis thought. Then, _That can't be a good sign._

Hunk hummed a little. "Hmm, good point." He took his first bite of the goo.

Shiro looked around in awe, at the walls, the lights, the sleep pods, and the console. Any and everything his dark gray eyes could drink in, just in this room. "I can't believe your civilisation built such advanced technology ten thousand years ago. It must have been an incredible place."

Talis, ignoring Hunk across the room blanching from the goo, thought of all the times she had seen Altea from space, returning home from this place or that place. The elegant rings surrounding the planet, great blue oceans and seas and towering structures. How beautiful and bright the sky had been, compared to many other planets like Daibazaal, all the green grass and lively colored architecture. She thought of all the buildings stretching up towards the blue sky, as if desperate to touch it, and watching the streets below grow smaller and smaller as she went higher and higher up the castle.

Coran was the one who answered. "Yes, it was...but now it's gone and we're the last Alteans alive." _The last two and a half._

A sombre silence reigned, but just for a moment. Talis met Coran's gaze, then they both turned to Allura. She was distraught, her features filled with pain and a hand clutching near her heart, the other hugging her side, blue eyes averted. And oh, how she loathed showing weakness, letting others see how affected by travesty she really was. As the Princess and future Queen, she felt she was expected to always be a strong figure to look towards for guidance, and the pressure was heavy on her.

She hugged herself, while Coran moved to comfort Allura. He set a hand on her shoulder, and when she all but threw herself at his chest, he wrapped his arms around her.

It was barely a moment later when Allura let out a gasp. She pushed away from Coran and all but rushed to her pod. Talis could only watch in confusion as she made a happy noise upon looking inside of it. "Looks like we're not the last after all." Her words, somewhat shaky, were met with squeaking, and she crouched down to pick up whatever- mice?- was in her pod.

Before she had even turned around, the alarm began to blare. Allura startled, twisting around with four- yep- mice in her hands, and Coran gasped. All eyes turned to the flashing computer screen, red in color.

Coran was left the closest to it. He pressed a key, bringing up an image of a Galra battleship. It was unmistakably Galran, the body was unique and the shell a dark purple. "A Galra battleship has set its tracker to us." His voice was rightfully alarmed.

Allura appeared beside him, Talis on her heels, peering around her. "How did they find us?!"

"I'm not sure, but I bet it's Keith's fault." Lance said, arms crossed and side-eyeing his teammate. _And they prove my point that they will bicker over anything._

 _Literally_ anything.

"Say whatever you got to say to make yourself feel better. After getting us stuck on the other side of a wormhole!" Keith pivoted towards Lance, leaning in.

"I'll stick you in a wormhole!" Lance shouted, stepping into Keith's space to go head to head with him.

Talis was preparing to separate them herself, when Shiro beat her to it. He stepped in, pressing a hand against Lance's chest and extending his other arm out towards Keith. Lance backed off immediately, throwing his hands up in the air. "Stow it, cadets! This is no time to place blame. It's time to work as a team."

"They tracked the Blue lion to your planet," Talis said, exasperated by the lack of deductive reasoning skills displayed. "It's possible they tracked it here." Where _was_ 'here'? She had gone into cryo not long after Alfor left, trusting Coran to see Allura and the Black lion to safety.

Shiro nodded, finding that a decent enough answer while Lance muttered; for his effort, Talis shot him a particularly dirty glare, and imagined for a brief moment knocking him upside the head with her staff for being irritating, but decided that wasn't a good enough reason for herself.

"How long until they arrive?" Shiro asked, returning to the matter at hand.

Coran was already counting on his fingers. "At their speed? Oh, well, carry the two...I'd say probably a couple of days."

"Let them come!" Allura stepped forward, using her anger towards the Galra to be determined. "By the time they get here, you five will have reformed Voltron and together, we will destroy Zarkon's empire!"

The force of her conviction was only undercut when Hunk, licking his fingers, belched. "Sorry. Food goo." He clasped his hands together in a way she guessed was supposed to be apologetic, and was followed immediately by the rumbling of his stomach and a groan.

Talis stared for a moment, blinking once, then twice.

Shiro swept them along. "Princess, there are five of these lions. How are we going to find the rest?"

 _It will be much easier,_ Talis thought to herself, _to find the rest of the lions than you think, Shiro._

* * *

Stepping into the bridge, Talis half expected to see fire and chaos though the floor-to-ceiling display panels, windows without the structural weakness, or the blackness of space filled with swaths of stars and cosmic dust. But there was nothing to see when they walked in, just the dark; the window screens were inactive, like much of the castle, leaving them opaque.

She was relieved by that.

Allura stepped up to the central platform and closed her eyes, focusing. The Balmera crystal activated, washing her in blue light.

Talis, Coran, and the humans waited at the front of the bridge, rather than near the doors. He crossed his arms and fixed his gaze on their princess. "King Alfor connected the lions to Allura's life force," Coran explained to them. "She alone is the key to the lions' whereabouts."

A moment later, the Allura reopened her eyes, flicked her hands, and the universal map flung itself throughout the room, millions of glowing blue orbs with symbols in them, floating triangles, and, of course, the likeness of the lions in cubical grids. Streaks of white occasionally arced across the spherical, room encompassing map- comets, racing through the universe and burning up in brilliant blazes. The five all exclaimed, shocked and awed. The implication that they did not have such brilliant universal maps seemed sad to Talis; _oh,_ how she had spent hours upon hours of her childhood staring at them in delight, watching stars and planets dance galaxies away, and the _comets._

Pidge was the first to say anything, as the Planet of Arus- their location, evidently- passed by her. "These are coordinates. The Black lion looks like it's in the same place as the Blue lion."

"Look at your primitive synapses firing away in their little brain cage." Coran leaned into her space. Talis stared at him oddly, and could only assume he was intrigued at how quickly Pidge was picking up their technology for Shiro having marveled at how advanced it was...for ten thousand years ago, specifically.

"Very observant. That's because the Black lion is in the Castle."

"To keep the Black lion out of Zarkon's hands, King Alfor locked it in the Castle. It can only be freed if the other four lions are present."

Without missing a beat, Allura continued, "As you've found, the lions choose their pilots. It is a mystical bond and cannot be forced. The quintessence of the pilot is mirrored in his lion. Together, they form something greater than science can explain." She reached out her hand, and spun the map's orientation so that the Black lion stopped in front of Shiro.

Talis crossed her arms. Her mind started to wander again while Allura continued, and she wondered if she could go, now, and get a start on the rapidly formed checklist in her head. She wasn't needed for _this,_ was she?

"The Black lion is the decisive head of Voltron. It will take a pilot who is a born leader and in control at all times, someone whose men will follow without hesitation. That is why, Shiro, you will pilot the Black lion." The map spun more. Some of the stars and planets looked more purple now, he noted. "The Green lion has an inquisitive personality and needs a pilot of intellect and daring."

Talis turned her head to look at Coran and raised a hand, slightly, to get his attention.

"Pidge, you will pilot the Green lion."

Luckily, she managed to catch Coran while he was glancing over at her. His expression very quickly turned curious and he tilted his head.

"The Blue lion-"

Talis pointed at herself, and with her other hand, motioned towards the door; _can I leave?_

"Hold up, let me guess," Lance interrupted, flashing what Talis supposed was intended to be a charming smile. "Takes the most handsome-slash-best pilot of the bunch?"

While Lance spoke, she and Coran carried their own private, wordless conversation. Coran gave her a nod, making a small shoo-ing motion with his hands in case that wasn't enough. Talis did not hesitate to make her way to the door, and out to the hall.

Allura's last words that she heard were, "The Yellow lion is caring and…"

The door made a mechanical _swish_ -like noise as it closed.

* * *

Talis spent much of the next varga and a half, two Earthbound 'hours,' running scans and diagnostics, and struggling to remain focused on her task at hand. Without anyone around to divert her attention from inwards, it was easy for her to get lost in introspection and not even her physical inspection of the castle's diagnostic systems, and then medical bay, could pry her from it for long.

She had started with the VI's main console, deep with the castle, reasoning that since the VI managed system diagnostics, it was of the utmost importance to insure that it would be accurate. So, she had headed down there with a handheld scanner, and there she remained.

After she manually checked the console with her handheld, she started the program for it to do the rest of the castle.

There were a few systems reported as "non-functioning" as the list went on, with a blinking red dot beside them, and even more as "inactive," some of which specified "manual activation required." Those that she could activate remotely, she did, and that meant she remained down in the main hub.

Talis stood at a console, compiling the list of systems- of which there was many- by importance and relative location on the castle for her and Coran, and Allura if she wanted, to go through as quickly and efficiently as they could. There were...a lot. It was easy to forget how big the castle was, traveling only select areas of the castle and traveling quickly using the ziplines and elevators.

It was _ginormous._

The cataloging was easy enough without much active thought, and that was when her thoughts had started to turn to different things.

She thought about Zarkon, and how by all accounts he should be _dead-_ he _was_ dead, there had been a funeral for him and Honerva held by King Alfor, in the very castle she stood now, with all of the other paladins in attendance and agreement that he had died on Daibazaal before it fell apart.

How was he alive after that? How was he _still_ alive?

And then, her thoughts abruptly turned to Altea and Alfor.

The firepower between the Galra and Altea had been laughable- alteans were an overall peaceful people who only had a notable military to defend against raiders and miscreants, and for the training to survive in hostile environments. It was never meant to or going to be able to withstand the full force of another society. Altea's defenses and colonies within the solar system had all been destroyed within a quintant, and then it was Altea's turn to follow in their path.

The civilians that they had tried to evacuate- it'd been too late by the time the attacks started, hadn't it?

 _Why_ hadn't Alfor tried to save more? The castle-ship could support hundreds, if not thousands of alteans, and he had plans for it to escape- why- why did he- why did he tell them to-

"Aha!" Talis jumped in response to the sudden exclamation, but it only took her half a tick to recognise it was only Coran. "I had a feeling I might find you here, Talis."

She chuckled weakly in response. "Here I am. Did you need something?" She didn't turn away from the screen to face him, and after only a couple moments of deliberation, he more than willingly began to peer over her shoulder at her work. Talis didn't feel the need to explain to him what she was doing; Coran was smart and had been taking care of this castle long before she was born, he probably knew exactly what she was up to.

He was silent for a couple more ticks, then straightened. "Well, you see, I've known you since you were a little girl…"

" _Coran._ "

"I only want to check in on you while the paladins are getting the yellow and green lions, and Allura is busy with the wormholes. See if you need any help or anything."

Or: _you and I both know you like to internalise your persistent negative (two very important words to this sentence) emotions to an unhealthy degree rather than actually work through them because that is Very Scary for you, so while everyone else is away or occupied, I am going to gently prod at you._

"I'm fine, thank you." It wasn't true, but denial was just another part of the cycle, like anger and-

Coran fiddled with his mustache, visibly contemplating his response. Instead of addressing her lie, he instead informed her, "Princess Allura has located the Red lion. It's aboard that galra ship headed for Arus." Which was where they were. That was them.

"The Galra found it? How?" Talis didn't imagine Allura was very pleased to discover that her father's lion had been captured.

Coran shrugged vaguely. "It appears so. How they found it- or the Blue lion- are anyone's guess." She had a few guesses: maybe they found evidence to suggest where the lions had been sent, or had been laboriously combing the outer reaches of the universe for the last ten thousand years. Or maybe they honed in on Voltron's signature, it was one of the only altean-made _anything_ left in existence, and, as far as Talis knew, the lions were each completely unique. _Voltron_ was completely unique, no other vessels existed like it, and none ever would.

She contemplated it for a little longer, wondering if, once they had _all_ the lions, they would have to worry about being tracked through them. "How soon will the...paladins return?"

"Oh, just a few dobashes unless they want to settle on one of those planets."

"A few _dobashes?"_

Coran nodded, momentarily prodding at a different keyboard. "Yes, so we should probably return to the bridge." Or: _The other reason I came down here was to come get you, so let's go._

"...I'll be up in a couple ticks, Coran. I just need to round this part off for later."

Coran eyed her briefly, then nodded. "I shall let the Princess know." Then, adjusting the collar of his uniform, he turned and walked out, hands tucked neatly behind his back.

* * *

They waited a couple dobashes after giving Talis _the update,_ before Allura activated the comms. Aside from the ruckus on Lance and Hunk's end, all seemed to be going well; the Green and Yellow lions had accepted their new paladins and bonded with them.

"Paladins, please hurry back. I can't hold the wormhole much longer."

Without waiting for a response, she shut it off just as quickly. Talis could see her body tremble slightly, and wondered if that was from standing at the conduits for or the exertion of keeping the wormholes open for so long. She wasn't even sure what it looked or felt like, over-expending energy to open wormholes. Neither she nor Coran could do it themselves.

Either way, she scooted closer and got ready to make a dive for Allura if her legs gave out. Head injuries from falls were often worse than the fall itself would have otherwise been. Maybe some slight bruising, or a scrape, but a head injury could easy end up with hospitalisation...or, healing pod-isation.

Pidge and Shiro joined them first, wearing peaceful expressions and looking relaxed. Talis half suspected they had already been through the wormhole when Allura told them to hurry.

Their ease probably wouldn't last for long.

Hunk and Lance joined a few dobashes later, their arrival to the bridge announced by electronic beeping and the sound of the doors opening and closing. They groaned, hands pushing at their own backs and rubbing at their necks; the opposite of how Pidge and Shiro had entered.

"You made it." Allura let out a small sigh of relief.

"Yeah, just barely. That was a nightmare," Lance complained. He moved his hands to his hips. "I almost puked out there. I felt like Hunk!" He gestured towards his friend.

"Think how I felt. I am Hunk." Hunk rubbed the back of his head. Talis made a note that, no, this morning was _not_ an outlier, Hunk actually puked a lot- and the cause seemed to be motion sickness of all things. They would need to work on that if he was going to be a Paladin. Lots of flying and maneuvering were involved in flying any sort of ship, but especially the lions.

Also, she noted, since the medbay was active, she should start collecting scans of them in various conditions for the pods to catalogue. And because she was a _little_ curious about their anatomy, and knew that Coran was too.

"Yeah. We had a tough time, too," Pidge said, sharing a knowing look and smile with Shiro. _Tough time indeed._ Talis refrained from her snort of skepticism.

Shiro sobered up fast. "Have we found the Red lion yet?"

Talis shared her own look with Coran. He began, "Allura just located it. There's a bit of good news and bad news." He twirled his 'mustache again. "The good news is, it's nearby. The bad news is, it's on the Galra battleship orbiting Arus now." Coran looked like he had an epiphany, but she knew it was for effect. _Give bad news like it's good news._ That was a motto for...something. Giving bad news as good news, obviously. "Good news again. We're Arus!" Coran spreaded his arms to gesture out the windows. The sky looked a lot like Altea's, she thought, blue and filled with yellow sunlight. The clouds were different though.

"More bad news: the Galra battleship is here already, and it definitely is a _lot_ faster than we thought. Silly us." Talis _tsk_ ed and shook her head, arms crossed.

The news was met with shock and alarm.

Shiro jerked half a step forward and then stopped. "They're here already?"

"They did seem pretty fast back when we first encountered them…" Pidge added, mostly to herself, irises sliding the corner of her eyes to look at nobody and nothing in particular.

"Yes. And we need to go get the Red lion and reform Voltron immediately, before they attack us." Talis took a step forward.

The flickering of the holoscreen behind him, complete with sound, interrupted him. He turned, just as the feed solidified its pixels and they were greeted to the sight of a purple alien; he looked nothing like the Galra Talis knew, with large animalistic ears and a coat of fur. He had the ridge, though, she noted. And a missing eye replaced with a cybernetic one, an ugly scar running over the socket.

 _"Princess Allura, this is Commander Sendak of the Galra Empire."_ There was a collective cringing in the room, and Talis ground her teeth from the force of clenching her jaw. _"I come on behalf of Emperor Zarkon, Lord of the Known Universe. I am here to confiscate the lions. Turn them over to me, or I will destroy your planet."_

The feed disconnected as abruptly as it had appeared, leaving them facing the window and a scenery in juxtaposition with the threat just delivered.

The sarcastic side of Talis wondered, _Who else would he have been here for if not the Galra Empire or Zarkon?_ and then it bitterly said _Our planet is already gone you quiznaking-_ and she cut off that train of thought there.

She wished she were more surprised that he could destroy a planet by himself, with only one ship and not an entire fleet. A planet that had just _them_ to defend it, as far as she'd learned. It had them, and they didn't even have their weapon together yet.

Talis began to open her mouth and turn to the others, but once more Shiro beat her to it. "All right, let's not panic." He gestured for them to stay calm, hands out in front of him and pressing down on the air.

"Not panic? The scary purple alien thing-"

"A galra."

"- _Galra,"_ Hunk kept on rolling regardless, "is driving his battleship towards us." He held up a hand, with four fingers up. "We only have four lions."

It was Pidge's turn to interject. "Technically, we only have three working lions." he pointed out. He crossed his arms. Talis conceded that she was right, and that was something she had thought of in frustration too, but she wished he had said nothing rather than fanning Hunk's panic.

"That's right. Thank you, Pidge." He pat him on his shoulder, his large hand big enough to engulf the joint. He approached the center of the floor between where they stood. "Three working lions and a castle that's like, ten thousand years old."

"Actually," Talis sent Coran a withering look, _stop it,_ but he continued scooting towards Hunk regardless, "it's ten thousand and six hundred years old. You see, it was built by my grandfather-"

Hunk pressed a finger firmly against his lips, cutting him off. "Thanks, Coran. Thank you for that." He turned back to addressing Shiro. "See? Now is the perfect time to panic!"

Talis rubbed her temple. No. Just...no.

"This is nothing unexpected," she said clearly. "This castle is a powerful weapon and fortress in its own right. Right, Princess?"

It took a moment, but she filled in, "This castle has a particle barrier we can activate."

Across the room, Lance opened his mouth again. "Girl, you've already activated my-"

Across the room, Shiro cut him off with a curt, "Lance!"

Coran pulled up the castle's scan of the Galra ship, highlighting the cannon mounted on it. _That's new._ "The particle barrier won't hold Sendak's ion cannon forever. It's much more advanced than what we've faced before."

"Panic now?" Hunk asked.

"No." Shiro continued, "We've just got to figure out our plan of action, and figure it out quickly."

"I say we pop through a wormhole and live to fight another day." Lance said.

"I second that, yes," Hunk agreed, words coming out in a rush. Talis sighed, but she gave up- or _tried_ to give up, she was very bad at it- curbing this hysteria, and Shiro didn't bother either. "We gave it the old college. Couldn't do it. We only have three." He raised his fingers again, amid the hand gesturing he was doing. "Can't form Voltron. I guess we could form a snake. Or a worm! To go through that hole, Lance, you were talking about."

"Then it's settled." Lance said. He sauntered towards Allura, hands in pocket. "Allura, Talis," situated himself on the side of Allura closest to Talis. She rolled her eyes, "You ride with me. One of you take the old guy." He nodded his head at Coran.

Before any of the three could dignify that with a _"If any of us were to ride with you, it would most definitely be Coran for that, thanks for the offer but no, not happening_ " Pidge objected."We can't just abandon Arus. The Galra will keep destroying planets and capturing prisoners until we stop them."

"Okay," Hunk reasoned, "if we run, then maybe Sendak will follow us and leave this planet alone, like when we left Earth." Hunk began to gesture rapidly, from a person walking to his hands clasped together, slithering, without pause. "We form the snake-worm thingamajig and we," he hissed, "out of here."

"Are you _serious?_ " Was she _really_ hearing this? How had he been accepted by the Yellow lion! This was- the words got tangled up as she flailed, mentally, for one that perfectly described her feelings about it. _Unbelievable._

Hunk didn't even hesitate. "Yeah. I am. We-" _hissss,_ "-out of here."

Luckily, she was not the only one who disagreed with that whole statement. Keith, as calmly as he could, countered, "Sendak could destroy the planet then come after us anyway. Staying is our only option."

To Keith, and specifically to Keith, Lance gestured. "Here's an option: shut your _quiznak._ "

"I don't think you're using that word correctly." _He's not._

"What do you know, Mullet?"

Keith stepped towards him. "We're staying."

"Leaving!"

"Staying!" Pidge shouted.

"Snake!" Hunk frowned down at Pidge, who in turn was glaring daggers at him. Talis rubbed at her temples again; and here she had thought castle maintenance was giving her a headache, that had nothing on _this_ mess.

"Guys, stop!" Shiro moved to stand between his divided team, Pidge and Keith to one side of him and Lance and Hunk to the other; they continued to glare each other down from the corner of their eyes, tense and heated. He faced the princess. "Princess Allura, these are your lions, you've dealt with the Galra Empire before. You know what we're facing better than any of us. What do you think is the best course of action?"

Talis turned to look at the Princess. She looked back and forth between them all, blue eyes darkened with conflict and indecision.

"I...I don't know."

Running wasn't an option. They would lose the Black and Red lions for good, they would lose their ability to wormhole (and reliable source of food, however dubious the goo was), and if Sendak's claim were even partially true, there was nowhere for them to run to that Empire wouldn't find them eventually. If they didn't get the Red lion now, they would lose.

"Princess, we cannot leave." Talis said, softly so as not to be pushy or out of line. "The decision is yours and you know I'll follow you, but if we go, we'll lose the castle, and the Red and Black lions. For _good._ " She looked at Hunk and Lance more sharply, eyes narrowing.

Allura turned her eyes down from them all, contemplating.

"Perhaps your father can help."

Talis blinked at Coran, just as confused as Allura, but he looked quite certain of his words.

"My father?" Princess Allura asked after a brief moment of quiet.

"Yes, your father." Coran confirmed. "Let me show you, Princess." The Princess followed him, curious and in need of answers, without question.

"Talis...will you come with?"

She nodded, trailing after her.

* * *

Coran led them down a corridor that was perpetually dark in spite of the veins of blue light lining the walls. At the end of it was a door.

It opened to reveal a wide, open space not much brighter than the hallway that had led them to it. A platform extended out into the center, like a peninsula. The sides of it curved up like a bowl, a self-formed railing.

"Coran, what is this?" Allura asked, stepping inside.

Talis waited for Coran to enter, and stayed by his side, looking around. It wasn't until they reached the middle of the walkway and Allura the platform, that Coran finally answered. "King Alfor knew there was a chance he might never see you again. So, his memories, his very being, were stored in this computer for you."

 _How did...when did he have the time?_ Talis wondered.

Allura stopped at the middle of the platform, looking at something. Talis desperately wished to investigate it for herself, but she did not budge from where she stood.

A ball of blue, glowing pixels exploded, casting themselves all over. Talis watched in fascination; from where he stood, she could only see Allura and a hologram- King Alfor. Talis knew that she was delighted to see him, even only able to hear her exclamation, _"Father!"_ and see her rush towards him. The King's hologram, the face of which she could see, smiled sadly at her.

Coran put a hand on her shoulder and nodded towards the door.

Talis followed him out, giving the Princess one last look over her shoulder. Then, the door closed, leaving her to converse with her 'father' privately.

Outside, Coran turned towards her and sighed. It was a heavy and hurting sigh, and perhaps the first unmasked emotion Talis had seen from him since comforting Princess Allura earlier that day. Even his attempt at getting Talis to talk earlier hadn't been straightforward, though Talis knew his concern was genuine.

They remained in silence for a moment. Talis ran out of things to look at in the corridor, and fixed her golden eyes on Coran. The slight slump of his shoulders and how much deeper the lines on his face looked.

"Coran, do you really think they can form Voltron?" she asked. "They can't even stop arguing. I have a _headache_ from their arguing."

He perked up somewhat at the question, the mask slipping back into place. "Maybe. With the right push." He twirled his mustache thoughtfully. "I trust him to know what they're capable of."

Talis hugged herself more and smiled a little. "So far he seems to have the best head on his shoulders, but Keith and Pidge have a pretty good idea too."

"I know you don't think there's any benefit to running away, Talis."

"That's because there isn't. To run away _right now,_ we'd have to leave the castle and Black lion sitting in Zarkon's lap and have no way to wormhole to safety."

Coran didn't disagree with her, nor did he explicitly agree with her.

The door opened, and Allura stepped out. She carried her head high, posture straight, and her gaze was firm, as determined as it had been earlier when she declared they would put an end to Zarkon's empire. "I've made my decision," she told them, walking past.

 _Hopefully it's to stay._ Of course, would Allura walk with such confidence if she were just going to run away?

"Let's go tell the Paladins, then."

"Yes, but first, I need my armor. And so do you, Talis."

"Yes, Princess," They dutifully acknowledged. They followed her out of the corridor, walking at a speed that would have left a frenzy of activity in their wake were there anyone to effect in the halls. Allura had to pull up the skirt of her dress to avoid possibly stepping on it with how quickly she moved. That was why Talis wore leggings, honestly. Dresses were pretty, but long skirts got in the way sooner or later, and Talis just didn't value the aesthetic enough to deal with that.

She paused very briefly to face Coran. "Coran, I want you to begin preparations on the castle."

"Of course, Princess." He headed back towards the bridge, and they continued to their quarters.

Talis's quarters were in the guest wing while Allura, and Coran, were in the royal wing, so she would have to split paths with Allura eventually. But, for now, it was almost like old times, just the two of them sneaking around the castle. Almost.

...not really.

They weren't sneaking, and this was a fair bit more awkward.

"Will you accompany the Paladins onto Sendak's ship?" Allura asked, finally breaking the silence. "Coran and I can handle things here, but we don't know what the paladins may face once onboard. I would feel better if you went." _I'm not confident the paladins can take care of themselves inside._

"Of course." Talis offered Allura smile, but it felt odd. "As long as you're sure."

"I'm certain."

They continued on in relative quiet, the castle lighting the sconces lining the hall as they approached each one. Eventually, Talis split away from Allura and headed down a separate labyrinth of halls, corridors, and stairs, to arrive in front of her quarters' door. She only hoped that her armor's containment pod, rectangular and set into the wall, remained functioning and her armor intact.

She was a bit surprised, stepping inside, to find her lounge- that was, the room before her bedroom to host visitors- entire undisturbed. All the cushions, while a bit musty were whole. Very undecayed.

In her bedroom proper, she found her bed was still made, with the same blankets, and a quick check of her closet confirmed that her clothes also remained, eerily untouched by time. And, to Talis's extreme relief, her armor display was just fine. It lit up as she approached. Her armor was more lean than the Paladin armor, and other altean armors- graduating from her academy with top marks in several subjects (on top of being a noblewoman's daughter) provided perks, such as customisation options, and Talis hadn't hesitated to take advantage. She just did not like the bulk, which she knew could be far worse, to the standard models. _Like_ those armors, it was primarily white, had the Voltron symbol on it, albeit elongated, and had a simple belt that didn't protrude much at all. Its body suit was primarily black with patches of dark purple elegantly and strategically placed. The helmet simply had a golden 'v' on it, with a dark purple interior.

She pressed her palm against the surface, allowing it to confirm her identity and unlock the case, and then quickly began to strip, and redress. Once she was finished, she replaced her staff on her lower back. She debated bringing her rifle with her, but decided against it. It was a hassle to bring with.

Talis hurried, running, back to the bridge, and made it just in time to walk in with Allura, who gave her a brief look up and down and then nodded to herself. She gave the paladins just enough time to take in her attire, arguably _"less fancy"_ than Talis's, but her armor wasn't equipped for combative purposes either, it simply served as a protective layer from space and something much more maneuverable than her dress. Talis quite liked seeing her out of that gown, anyway. It didn't matter what she decided to wear instead- her armor, another dress, a uniform. They all looked nice.

"You five Paladins were brought here for a reason. The Voltron lions are meant to be piloted by you and you alone. We must fight and keep fighting until we defeat Zarkon. It is our destiny."

Talis didn't believe in fate or destiny, but she believed in _responsibility._

They were here, they knew what Zarkon was capable of and they had the means to defeat him. Even if it weren't personal, they had to do something, because they _could_. If they stepped aside, they'd just be letting him continue his destructive path.

"Voltron is the universe's only hope. We are the universe's only hope." Allura concluded with conviction.

"We're with you, Princess." Shiro stepped forward.

"Then it's time you're equipped as Paladins of Voltron." Multiple sets of brows jumped at Talis's declaration, and the Paladins promptly exchanged excited glances with one another.

"Indeed." Allura smiled a little, a curl of the edge of her mouth.

* * *

The plan was that Pidge would come in under Sendak's radar while Hunk and Lance kept his attention with the Yellow and Blue lions. Once onboard, he would cover their exit route, and Talis, Shiro, and Keith, would move further into the battleship to locate the Red lion.

She gripped the pilot's seat and looked out over Pidge's shoulder.

Talis found it baffling that the framework of the battleships had remained the same for ten thousand years. She couldn't fathom why, because there was a difference between building upon what was already there, and keeping around something to the point it became archaic. It didn't make sense to her. The had Galra always, _always,_ pushed forward; looked for, created, and discovered something better.

Talis would have time to mull over that later, and she shouldn't complain too much. It made their job a bit easier.

Pidge landed the Green lion on the underside of the ship as gently as he could, and they disembarked out of its jaws.

The distance wasn't far to the ship's surface 'above' them. Talis scooted over to Shiro, awkwardly slinging an arm around his shoulder and letting hip loop an arm around her waist. Since her armor was so much smaller than the Paladin armor, not much bigger, just more traditionally formed, than Allura's own, she didn't have her own boosters to navigate across the gap, and the orbital traverser was too bulky and inconvenient for this mission.

The two of them were the last to leave the lion.

Pidge punched into the battleship using her bayard and cut open a hole large enough for them to enter comfortably, one by one. Shiro let her go first, floating over to it so that she could push off of him and inside. He followed, then Keith, and finally Pidge.

Greeting them were two walkways with vast space between them, filled with great, thick ropes of purplish electricity dancing from the floor to the ceiling between two walkways; the inverted version of the castle's engine room. The conductive coils dominated the corridor and underneath them was wiring and piping. As far as Talis could see, there were no sentries around.

 _"Pidge, what's your ETA?"_ Lance's voice came over the comms loud and clear.

Talis withdrew her handheld and pointed it towards the rest of the room. A blue light scanned the area and displayed the information on the screen; diagnostics on the machinery, materials, and lighting up objects of interest- consoles a few rooms over, the coils and pipes, and entryways.

"We're in," he answered.

"Let's go. Our door is over there." Talis pointed across the way. "Stay away from the conductors."

"Copy," Keith said.

They moved inwards as a group, Talis in the lead with her staff in hand and tucked inverted near her body. Keith came in second, bayard activated into an arming sword with an... _interesting_ grip. Shiro brought up the rear, with Pidge in between he and Keith.

Talis peered around the corner. It was a simple, sleek corridor lit with dim purple light and splitting off three other directions.

"Clear." she told the Paladins. She stepped out, scanner at the ready. Numbers and sigils flashed on the screen, but there wasn't much of interest. Just some piping underfoot and in the walls and ceiling.

Talis shut down the scanner and stowed it away once more; it couldn't tell her the layout of the ship from here, so it was pointless to keep it active.

Behind her, she heard Shiro gasp and pant softly. When she turned to ask what was wrong, he was staring deeply down one of the corridors, skin paled and looking slightly sweaty abruptly. "I've been here before. After I was taken by the Galra cruiser off Kerberos, they brought us here." Shiro scanned the hallway intensely, as if scouring for details to confirm his words to himself.

Before Talis could ask, _"There are prisoners on this ship?"_ Pidge spoke up.

"So that means your other crew members, they might be held captive here. We...we've got to rescue them."

Shiro closed his eyes and clenched his fists. His voice shook faintly when he spoke. "Pidge, we don't have time. We have to get the Red lion and get back to Arus."

Though Talis would have searched the entire ship by herself for them before leaving, she decided to let them come to their own decision first. These three had good heads on their shoulders, so far, and it wasn't like they were antagonising each other. But, they had to make it quick. It was unlikely this hall would remain unpatrolled for too long.

"But we can't just leave prisoners here!" Pidge insisted.

Shiro finally turned to face her. "Look, no one understands that more than me but in war, we have to make hard choices. Now let's get moving."

Talis was about to reassure Pidge that _she_ would look for the prisoners, when he shouted. "No!" The volume startled Talis, less because it was unexpected or scary- it wasn't- and more because _are you insane?_ They needed to be quiet or they'd inevitably alert someone that they were there. "Commander Holt is my father. He and my brother were the ones on the Kerberos mission with you."

Shiro's entire demeanor changed. "Commander Holt is your father?"

"Yes. I've been searching everywhere for him and my brother. And I'm not giving up when I'm this close. I won't!" He turned, ready to walk away and scour the ship by himself if necessary. Talis didn't doubt that he would tear through every corridor and room until he did find them.

"I'm coming with you." Shiro said in the same moment Talis said, "I'll go look for them."

"What?" Keith demanded.

"I remember where the prisoners are held," he explained. "Keith, you go find the Red lion."

"By myself?"

"It's a minor change in plans. You'll be fine. Just remember, patience yields focus. So-" a door hissed open down the hallway to her and Shiro's right. "Run!"

Keith took off in the opposite direction of them.

* * *

Shiro led them through the ship in a state of unease. Talis wasn't much better herself, the ship unnerved her. She felt coiled and ready to spring at their own shadows, and once while walking she actually _did_ mistake their shadows for an approaching sentry.

"Are we getting close, Shiro?" She really hoped they hadn't headed in the opposite direction they needed to go, and were looping back around now.

 _I wonder how Keith is faring._ He hadn't found the Red lion yet or he would have said something over the comms.

"Yeah, we are." Shiro confirmed hesitantly. He panted a little and they continued walking in eerie quiet. After a few ticks, Shiro confessed, "I'm surprised you decided to come with."

"Why?"

"I thought you would consider it our first priority to get the Red lion before anything else."

Talis shrugged, for lack of easily expressing that she wouldn't be much help in actually _finding_ the Red lion, she was unfamiliar with the interior of Galra ships, so even her best guess- that the Red lion would be in a hangar or bay all to itself- was rendered useless. If Keith needed backup, he would call, and she would go running to him, or perhaps, even, Hunk or Lance would blast through the hull of the ship. There was also the issue of Shiro not having a weapon, and Pidge having one best suited to sabotaging, not direct confrontation- though Talis was sure she would make do- whereas Keith's sword, awkward grip aside, was.

Soon enough, the purple lights of the corridors turned to green lights. She found it strange and even more unsettling, as far as she was aware, green light should have been harsh on galran eyes. But, what did she know?

"We're getting close."

As they turned a corner, they were met with a floating, hexagonal drone. It just stared at them- recording and potentially running a program to alert the bridge, and thus the whole ship- before Pidge shot it with a pulse from his gauntlet. He approached where it crashed on the floor.

"That thing saw us. We should get out of here." Shiro cautioned.

"Wait. I think this might come in handy." Pidge crouched down and fiddled with it, before closing a panel.

"If we take it back to the Castle of lions, it could provide valuable insight into the progression of Galran technology. Your arm too." Talis added. His arm was a bit odd, to her. It didn't _look_ galran much at all. In fact, it bore more resemblance to altean technology than any galra tech she had seen, ten thousand years ago and during this trip.

Shiro made a _'huh'_ noise. "I hadn't thought of that."

"Now, I'll just reset the controls…" The drone made a whirr as it booted back up, and floated into the air, its eye and stripes glowing blue instead of purple. "And it's working for us." Pidge pointed at it as Shiro peered around the corner. He motioned for them go on. "I'm going to call you 'Rover.' Follow me!"

Talis followed them down the hall until they came to a stop in front of a door. Shiro pressed his hands around the door, groping and searching the metal surface for a mechanism to open it. Maybe his hand could interact with the technology, but as far as she knew, one had to be part galra to do so.

"Open up."

On Pidge's order, Rover floated up to the wall beside the door and fired a brief, continuous beam at it. A circle loaded around where its beam met the wall. When the circle completed itself, the door opened, retracting upwards into the ceiling.

"Good work, Pidge."

Talis set a hand on his shoulder and nodded appraisal.

The aliens on the other side gasped in shock and alarm. Pidge led the way inside, hastily ducking under the still rising door. "Dad?" he asked desperately.

Talis skimmed his eyes over the six aliens huddled inside. None of them were human. Pidge's body sagged with disappointment and he turned his eyes down. Two aliens hugged each other closer under Talis' gaze.

Shiro stepped forward. "Don't be afraid. We're here to help you escape."

A purple alien, with an antenna extending up from his forehead and forming a ringed shape at its end, spoke in a rasping voice, "It's you...it's you, the Champion." The others looked to him, wondering as much as the three of them, what he meant. "If anyone can get us out of here, he can." he assured them.

"Wh...what did you call me?"

"We'll have time to talk about it back at the castle." Talis reminded Shiro, but her eyes were on Pidge. He looked positively dejected. If he were her little sister, she wouldn't have hesitated to pull him to her chest and wrap her arms around him. But he wasn't her little sister. "Let's get them to the escape pods and head back to the rendezvous point."

Shiro nodded and waved for them to follow. "Right."

* * *

They returned to Arus as quickly as possible after seeing the prisoners off.

While the Paladins headed to the Black lion's hangar immediately, Talis made her way back up to the bridge.

The climb of stairs was long and for the most part, silent. Her footsteps echoed on each step and the sound of her breathing was simultaneously loud and quiet to her ears. Behind her, she heard the roar of the lions, signalling that they had opened the hangar to the Black lion.

She was all at once exhausted.

Talis had yet to do anything particular strenuous- she could do far more than walk around this castle and get into one, very quickly ended, scuffle in a few vargas and feel less tired than she did now- but she felt like all the energy had been drained from her body. Right now, she wanted to just sit down on these stairs, lean up against the wall, and take a nap- and she was _sick_ of sleeping.

There was only a short bit of time available for the Paladins to form Voltron before Sendak's ion cannon was fixed, and not much Talis could do to change that either way. And it would be repaired, she knew it.

Talis stopped, left foot on the next step.

She sighed heavily and reached up to pull her helmet off. Her white hair was a mess, no longer gathered up without either her hair clip or helmet to pin it, and it fell around her shoulders without much grace.

Without much care, she turned and lowered herself onto the stairs and stared at her helmet in her lap.

Why did she suddenly feel so drained? So useless?

They'd helped prisoners escape and Keith got the Red lion; the mission had been a success. _They would have done it anyway,_ she thought.

 _Does it matter?_ she asked herself tiredly. _I helped._ It felt so little, to have just commented and destroyed five out of ten robotic soldiers. But that wasn't it, was it? That wasn't what made her feel so heavy right now, she knew it wasn't.

 _If he were her little sister, she wouldn't have hesitated to pull him to her chest and wrap her arms around him. But he wasn't her little sister._

Her little sister was _dead_ and _gone,_ and she'd been murdered just like the rest of their mother's people by warships just like the one she was on less than ten dobashes ago. She was dead and gone because of Alfor's _belated, futile_ attempt to help his people, because he didn't-

Talis choked back on a sob, watching as a tear landed on her helmet. She rubbed at her eyes and cheeks, the material of her glove simultaneously smooth and coarse on her heated skin, and ultimately hid her face in the crook of her arm.

Not _just_ her younger sister, but her mother too.

It wasn't _fair._ She- she hadn't even gotten to visit them at her home before _it_ happened. She'd only just gotten back from her training and was getting her affairs at the castle sorted out, she wanted to have a week of just her, her sister, and her mother, no one else to demand her attention- quality family time after she'd only seen and spoken to them through video feeds for a little over a year.

And she didn't-

She didn't-

 _"Sendak has entered the Arusian atmosphere."_ It was Allura's voice on the intercom. _"We need Voltron now!"_

Talis dropped her arm, took another moment to just _breathe_ and calm down, then she lifted her helmet and spoke into it, hoping her voice would be steady as she responded, "I'm on my way."

She all but sprinted the rest of the way up the stairs and to the bridge, helmet in hand. To herself, she repeated Allura's announcement, forcing herself to stay focused.

The castle shook hard on her way, causing her to stumble against a wall for a brief moment. _What was that? Was that the ion cannon? Did we just get hit?_ Once she recovered, she ran for it.

Talis made it onto the bridge just in time to witness the second- she inferred- blast of Sendak's restored ion cannon.

It was a brief glimpse of it as a purple glint, still in the barrel charging up; then it was released in a linear surge of energy racing towards them. When it impacted on the particle barrier, it exploded into wreathing, roaring flames and rocked the castle with enough force that Talis stumbled for a second time. She yelped as her back hit the wall next to the door, and watched as the fire was scattered and swirled around the particle barrier to keep it repelled.

When it cleared, she got a good look at the swarm of fighters. The barrier dispersed their shots easily, but their sheer numbers were a problem. They would chip away at the barrier's strength until it couldn't deflect them, even without the ion cannon.

"Where have you been? We were getting worried!"

"My apologies, Princess."

Coran was stationed at the front terminal, overlooking the barrier's status. "The barrier gets weaker with every blast," he said to the Paladins, "once that shield goes down, the castle will be defenseless."

"I can give you cover with the castle defenses for a while, but you have to form Voltron now or we'll all be destroyed!"

 _"Jeez, no pressure."_ Hunk muttered.

Talis darted past Allura slid into one of the paladins' seats to operate their drone. "I'm taking control of drone A2. Launching now." She grabbed the controls and pulled them up. The holoscreen displayed the drone's point of view as it launched out into the fray.

There was no shortage of Galra ships to fire at- they were _swarming_ the castle and the lions. She opened fire without worrying too much about aiming or expending the drone's ammunition. Frankly, she wasn't even sure how helpful taking down a few of these fighters would be if the paladins couldn't form Voltron. They were on a limited amount of time, and there was nothing she could do about that battleship.

Sendak's third blast, with the loud sound that laser weaponry make, struck the barrier, making the castle groan and rock more violently than before. Allura fell to the ground and Coran slammed against the front console. Talis herself was almost thrown out of her seat. As she watched, the particle barrier exploded, leaving the castle vulnerable. The galra fighters surged on them.

She grabbed the controls, but to her dismay and horror, her drone had been destroyed. For a heartbeat, she just stared at the static in silence, feeling so removed from the moment that all she could hear was her own breathing. And then, her eyes were drawn up.

The lions were trapped in Sendak's tractor-beam. The fourth- and what would be the final, for them- blast charged up while they were unable to do anything but watch. As the energy to be fired grew larger and brighter, she closed her eyes and breathed out shakily. There was a bright flash that she saw even through her eyelids, and she flinched at the sound of the blast being released and drawing near.

She jumped out of her skin when she heard it crash and explode. She _heard_ it.

Talis was not the only one who gasped. All three of them stared in awe as the main screen brought up a zoomed-in section, displaying a close up Voltron, fully formed with his fist buried into the side of the gaped; they had _done it!_

Voltron tore into the ship, ripping off the cannon and flinging it away, firing through it, kicking into it and flying through it; this battle was done.

And they had survived.

Talis scrambled out of her seat to be pulled into a hug with Coran and Allura. They each cried a little in relief about it, checked each other over for any bruising, and then ran out of the bridge for the grand entryway like excited children.

The lions were already set down and their paladins disembarked from them by the time the three got there.

"Good work, paladins!" Allura clasped her hands together, still smiling with relief and excitement. Talis couldn't help the grin her own face was stretched into, and she shook a little. _What a day._ she thought.

The paladins sighed and panted. Lance pulled off his helmet. As he spoke, Shiro joined them, smacking Keith on the shoulder in a show of camaraderie. "Thanks, pretty lady." Talis rolled her eyes at him. Again.

"We did it."

It was Keith's turn to take off his helmet. He answered Shiro, "Heck yeah, we did."

"But how did we do it?"

Hunk picked himself up off of the ground, where he had been laying. "I was just, like, screaming the whole time." His helmet came off with a _pop_ and grunting on Hunk's part. "Maybe that did it."

"I don't think that did it." Talis mumbled.

Pidge had that sad, dejected look again as he adjusted his glasses. Shiro placed his hand on his shoulder. "We're not going to stop searching until we find your brother and father. Wherever they are, I know they'd be proud of you." He blinked at Shiro yrggishly, and then gave a small little smile.

Talis felt herself sobering for more serious conversation as Allura, standing between she and Coran, lowered her still-clasped hand and straightened. She crossed her arms loosely and listened. "We won the battle, but the war has only just begun. I'm afraid Zarkon will not stop until he gets these lions." _And he's not going to stop trying to get them now that they've all been found._

"Good thing you paladins know what you're doing, because you're going to have to form Voltron again and again." Coran added.

On the surface, his words seemed innocently cheery enough, but she knew he was teasing them. Gently, albeit. Giving them a nudge, one might say.

"Totally." Then Coran's words actually sunk in, and Hunk quickly shook his head. "Wait, what?"

The others- and she wasn't sure why- looked just as surprised as him. Did they really think destroying _one_ ship would put an end to this? Or were they just so caught up in their achievement that they had forgotten this was a long term commitment, not just their immediate survival? It was probably that.

"We barely survived forming Voltron this one time." Lance complained.

Talis chuckled.

Coran took an exaggerated step forward, launching into full-body gesturing. "And you only had to fight one ship. Wait until you have to fight a whole fleet of them!" He stepped back beside Allura. "It's not going to be easy being the Defenders of the Universe."

That was met with silence and stunned expressions at first. It was Shiro who spoke first.

"Defenders of the Universe, huh?" He, and the other paladins as well, turned to face their lions. "That's got a nice ring to it."

* * *

Talis sighed to herself. Now that the excitement was over and nothing immediately life-threatening was demanding her full attention, she was left feeling tired- no, rather like a wrung-out soufflinur.

She promised Allura and Coran she would meet up with them in a little bit to help with repairs, she just needed a little time to herself.

She dug through her drawers, disturbed to see much of her belongings in the same state they had been in ten thousand years ago when they should have withered away, and wrinkled flower petals that seemed the only things touched by time. She found what she was looking for easily enough. It was a small book, and she was relieved that it was intact. A bit fragile and it creaked in the quiet way bound books did when they were old, but whole.

Talis opened it to a random page and stared at the first picture she saw. Then she shook her head, turned the page, and looked for a better one.

When she found _it,_ she carefully withdrew it from its protective pocket, and settled it into the only picture frame she had with a mental note to find one with a screen later.

She left after delicately inserting it into the slot in her nightstand, the one that kept picture frames upright no matter what.


End file.
